The Black Lives Memorial Garden is an essential part of the local community. It is an ongoing, occupied protest space started in 2020 by people taking land back and organizing against police violence. For the past 3 years, it has memorialized BIPOC folks killed by police and celebrated this city's long history of Black and Indigenous-led resistance. 

The BLMG is also a hub for education, community-building, and environmental justice. Local organizations and individuals gather here regularly to tend to the garden and teach each other about biodiversity and land stewardship. We come together to heal, play, share food, bond with our neighbors, and honor the abundance of the land. 

However, on October 13, Seattle Parks & Rec plans to destroy the garden under the guise of "turf renovation".

This action would remove the many native and perennialized plants in the BLMG and replace them with non-native grass, erasing both a vital community asset and an ecological necessity for the plants, pollinators, and people alike.

We see this threat for what it is - an attempt to suppress BIPOC-led movements for liberation and decolonization. We will not stay silent while this meaningful space so many of us have spent years growing and caring for is destroyed.

Sign this petition today to tell Parks & Rec to leave the Black Lives Memorial Garden alone and let our community continue to thrive!